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The organisations: ASH-EUROCLIO
and
YRS – Young Researchers of Serbia
Responsible for the history competition: Jelena Popovic
Svetlana Jevdoksic
Contact: Young Researchers of Serbia
Bulevar umetnosti 27
11070 Novi Beograd, Serbia

Phone: +381-11-311 13 14 / +381-11-311 66 63
Fax: +381-11-311 66 53
Email: office@mis.org.yu; mancikert@sezampro.yu
Homepage: http://www.mis.org.yu
About the organisations: ASH-EUROCLIO is non-governmental organization that gathers history teachers from Serbia. It was founded in December 2001. Three months later, in March 2002 at the EUROCLIO Annual Assembly in Prague, it became full member of EUROCLIO, the Standing Conference for History Teachers’ Associations in Europe.
. ASH-EUROCLIO aims at improving history teaching and learning in Serbia. The Association seeks to make closest communication and cooperation among Serbian history teachers possible and help teachers to make contacts and exchange ideas also with colleagues from abroad.

YRS are unique, non-profit, non-governmental, non-political organization that gathers young people on voluntarily bases. It was officially registered in 1977, thought its roots are back in 1969 when researcher’s movement was established in Valjevo. Today, YRS are working on national level. Organization has three sectors: Youth, Voluntary service of Serbia and Environmental protection sector, stalwartly working together. The vision of YRS is to be the driving force for all the people who want our planet to become more peaceful, healthier and more adequate place to live. The mission of YRS is to protect and improve environment, to encourage creative and active participation of young people, to stimulate voluntarism and to promote its own values. The motto of YRS is: ”THINK BIG, do little – start an avalanche.”
The history competition: The first EUSTORY History Competition in Serbia was announced by ASH-EUROCLIO in September 2003. The official title of the competition is MEETING THE PAST and the research topic for 2003/2004 was „Remembering Childhood“. By announcing this competition organizers aimed to encourage the young generation to develop their own critical historical consciousness and to motivate them to research the recent past and deal with the sources. Matura papers are also accepted in order to reach as many students as possible.

The competition is held every school year, though there was a year of break during 2005/2006. During that year ASH-EUROCLIO got in touch with YRS, so since the school year of 2006/2007 the competition is organized by both organizations, ASH-EUROCLIO and YRS.
Other activities: The ASH-EUROCLIO organizes teacher-training seminars in order to improve history teaching in Serbia by introducing various teaching materials and methods and by encouraging teachers to use them in their practice. Through the bulletin Herodot that is published twice a year, the Association offers information about current educational reform in Serbia, the newest developments in history teaching in Serbia as well as in Europe. ASH-EUROCLIO is also engaged with other projects organized by respective European organizations, such as EUROCLIO and CDRSEE

To achieve its own goals YRS cooperate with numerous organizations through partnership and networking (e.g. Youth Coalition of Serbia, NCC “All equal - all different”, Center for Development of Non-profit Sector, SEEYN - South Eastern Europe Youth Network, SEEENN -South Eastern European Environmental NGO’s Network, CCIVS-Co-ordinating Committee of International Voluntary Service, ALLIANCE - The Alliance of European Voluntary Service Organizations, SCI-Service Civil International, YAP -Youth Action for Peace, Milieukontakt international, CEEWEB - Central and East European Working Group for the Enhancement of Biodiversity) and others, as well as with differnt institutions and individuals.
Requirements: The History competition addresses secondary school students aged 15 to 19 years. These students are invited to do historical research on their families or local history. They are asked to look for documents concerning their particular theme in their own family, but also in their neighbourhood, by contacting the official institutions and organizations such as archives, museums and libraries. They are also supposed to get in touch with contemporary witnesses and to conduct interviews with them in order to compile as many clues and source material for their topic as possible.

The results of student’s research should be presented in a clear form of written paper that shows analytical and interpretative skills and is well structured and illustrated. The subject of the paper should be dealing with the past and the author’s direct environment, meaning that there must be a local, a regional or a biographical approach to the topic.
Jury: There are two stages of assessment: preliminary and the final selection. Jury members are historians working in various institutions: at the University, in archives, libraries and museums, in journalism and in schools, as teachers.
Award: The award ceremony is held in Belgrade. There are cash and book prizes for the authors of best papers. All awarded and commended students are invited to apply for EUSTORY Academies.